Joe - Nice story, thanks. Sorry you're not thrilled with your current build, remember, Lindberg didn't make his Atlantic crossing on his first flight, some experience was acquired before.
My suggestion was to try a couple of 1:72 scale models first, not a larger scale, for these reasons.
1. Quicker to build, fewer parts, get the skills of fitting, cementing and finishing in place, then move on.
2. 1:72 is less costly, especially in the Revell/Monogram lineup. Any mistakes along the way don't result in a mega $ kit getting messed up a bit.
3. The parts count of a smaller kit size is far less than in a larger scale, you can develop your skills during a faster build. As you proceed, you can see for yourself how you're progressing, plus you'll have some finished models to enjoy looking at.
I'm age 74, started building balsa and plastic models in about 1949, stayed with it over all of these years, truly an enjoyable hobby. I'll point out one wrong thing to do, that is to buy kits with the intention to "build it later." Later can be a month, or as has happened, many years. By then the decals are shot, someone has produced a much better kit and like me, you end up with Hasegawa and Tamiya BIG $ kits like 1:32 fighters, with hundreds of raised rivets and panel lines that look atrocious.
At my worst, I had well over three hundred kits stashed. Then, after careful selection I pared it down to the present 140. At my age I'll never complete them all, so the neighborhood kids, vets at the VA hospital and others are getting them as gifts. At any hobby shop I'm like a blind dog in a meat market, I can't have it all, but want it so badly.
Now I just put on my big boy pants, hands in pockets and buy only the building supplies I need.
I'll second the thought that your model is likely much better than you think, remember not to compare yours with someone like Lawdog or Jay Jay and many others, they are really experienced and talented.
C YA
Patrick